£383m bridge approved

A new bridge across the Thames that will carry up to 20 million vehicles a year is due to get the go-ahead today.

Transport for London predicts the Thames Gateway Bridge, spanning the river where it is half a mile wide, will carry up to 5,500 motorists an hour - nearly as many as the Blackwall Tunnel.

Mayor Ken Livingstone says it will help regenerate east London, but the plan has angered campaigners who fear pollution and noise from an "inner-city motorway".

The £383 million crossing between Beckton and Thamesmead is due to open by 2013 and will have six lanes.

A draft environmental report for TfL admits there will be a "significant increase in traffic" in the four boroughs nearest the bridge, and accidents will rise. It predicts almost 5,000 residents will be affected by excessive traffic noise once the bridge opens, though this will fall in the long term as they become used to disruption.

It states: "During the year 2016, it is forecast 19.5 million vehicles and five million public transport passengers would use the bridge."

The report concludes there are no "insurmountable" obstacles to building the crossing, and regeneration benefits outweigh environmental concerns.

The plan is set to be approved by the TfL board today. The Mayor, who has earmarked the Thames Gateway region to provide 142,000 new homes and 255,000 jobs by 2016, argues that east London has been disadvantaged by having only three river crossings between Tower Bridge and Dartford, compared with 16 crossings west of Vauxhall Bridge to the M25.

But Darren Johnson, the Green Party's mayoral candidate, said TfL and the Mayor "have dishonestly understatedthe nature of this. Ken Livingstonelikes to paint a picture of a nice little local crossing. It's a six-lane motorway bridge."

Mr Johnson claimed the environmental study was little more than a " whitewash", and added: "This will wipe out the excellent work the Mayor has done in reducing traffic in central London."

Nigel Kersey, London director of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, said a bridge would help regeneration, but TfL's scheme was unacceptable as it would attract long-distance traffic. He said: "It will cause urban depopulation as more people will leave London because of pollution and noise. It facilitates commuting and will add to the pressure to build more houses."

TfL refused to comment in advance of today's meeting.

The bridge would be funded by £200 million of Government-approved loans, plus tolls probably set at £2 - twice that of the M25 Dartford Crossing.

Residents of Newham, Barking and Dagenham, Greenwich and Bexley would get a 50 per cent discount.

The environmental report said journey times between Newham and Greenwich would be cut by about 30 minutes. Two lanes would be reserved for 20 bendy buses an hour in each direction.

A Docklands Light Railway extension could be built on the crossing, though this is not thought cost-effective now.